


Modus

by KeldvokWrites



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Angst and Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:07:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26763319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeldvokWrites/pseuds/KeldvokWrites
Summary: He was a strange man, this Caligula. She had learned much of his exploits in her youth: of the madness of Rome’s most depraved emperor. But meeting the man himself gave her pause.
Relationships: Caligula | Berserker/Florence Nightingale | Berserker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Modus

“Soldier! Are you in need of assistance?” Nightingale called out to the man in golden armor, the Angel of Crimea rushing to his side. But there was no response.

The conflict had reached a fever pitch, and her Master was nowhere to be found in the chaos. She moved swiftly, taking care to avoid the arrows from the enemy archers, who had entrenched themselves on the hilltop above them and rained down their fury.

When she had reached the bottom of the hill, where she had seen the man fall, battered and bruised, she asked again. “Soldier! Are you in need of assistance?”

Caligula spat, blood dripping from his side and upper body. The last assault on the enemy’s fortification had taken much of his strength, but he remained transfixed on the woman who now stood before him, as though she had cast a spell herself. He nodded, hands shakily grasping his knees as he rose to his feet, steadying himself. “I…am alright. How can I aid you, _Hera_ …”?

“Nightingale”, she replied, her voice calm but stern. “State your name.”

Caligula smiled wide, as though he had defeated the enemy on his own. “I am Caligula, Emperor of Rome! It is a good day to make your acquaintance.”

Her stomach turned at the sound of his name, the taste of bile catching in her throat. She knew all too well who he was. “…The Emperor of Death.”

Caligula felt his jaw clench suddenly and his eyes narrow into slivers.

That title was not a name he chose for himself; rather, one thrust upon him by the hands of time and his own hubris. He felt his head begin to ache, and his vision blur. As though possessed, he felt himself march towards her, his crimson robe lashing in the wind violently. Madness was not a trait uncommon to his family, but Caligula’s manifested in ways more monstrous than his worst nightmares. He would wake up many nights in a cold sweat, hands bloody and with no recollection of where he had been. _Such was the fate of one who dared to love the Goddess of the Moon_.

Nightingale closed the distance, gazing upward into his dark eyes unflinchingly. The fury of the emperor was unmistakable, but she paid it no heed. She was as capable of destruction as any Berserker, should the need for conflict arise. 

“…One and the same”, Caligula said, his voice deeper than before. _D_ _arker_.

“Save your fury for the battlefield, _Imperator._ Or I will _make_ you _.”_

Caligula paused; her words having broken his obsession for just long enough to stem his fury. He loosened his grip, his shaking hands returning to their sides. Caligula knelt before her, reaching his hand out to her for atonement.

“My apologies, _Domina_ Nightingale.” His voice softened, like a gentle rain after a whirlwind.

Nightingale scoffed. But, behind the pools of black that surrounded his fiery glare, she saw something genuine in his eyes besides rage. _Sorrow? Concern? Regret?_

He was a strange man, this Caligula. She had learned much of his exploits in her youth: of the madness of Rome’s most depraved emperor. But meeting the man himself gave her pause. He had shown restraint, even if she had been forced to make him show it. Perhaps there was something more. She took his outstretched hand, calloused from years of battle.

“Thank you.”

“You are a solider too, no?” Caligula asked, now examining her garb. Her scarlet uniform had seen better days: Gold buttons had dulled into burnished bronze and a sash was long-since stained with blood and viscera. 

“I am a doctor.”

Caligula’s eyes widened. “A _medicus_? That is truly exceptional! By the gods, I would have given a hundred thousand men for someone like you in my Rome. If only Nero were here! Perhaps you could teach me your methods?”

Florence’s face turned deathly pale. “S-surely not,” she replied, quickly pointing to her bag of medical supplies, concealed by her jacket. “It, it is the duty of a doctor to save lives, no matter the cost.”

Caligula laughed haughtily, his fangs forming a lupine smile at the edges of his mouth. “I take it that does not include our foes to the north?”

She flashed her pistol, pointing it to where the horde of golems had regrouped for their next attack. “It does not.”

Caligula grinned with approval, sanity giving its way back to instinct. “Lead the way, fair doctor. We have a battle to win.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come chat with me on Tumblr! [@KeldvokWrites](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/keldvok)


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